Death is a Three-Letter Word

By

Sherry

Author's note: This story popped into my head one night, so I posted the first part of it as a story challenge on gagesworld…here's my attempt at it. Thanks to Linda for the title

All EMERGENCY! Characters belong to MARK VII LIMITED but any and all OC's (Original Characters) belong to me and can not be used without my permission

** Denotes thought **

In the black of the rainy night, the young paramedic sat nervously in the back seat of the car, alone and cold, as he shivered from, he guessed, getting wet from the rain. His hands were bound behind him and tape covered his mouth to prevent him from screaming.

With all the twists and turns that had been taken, while being awake, plus whatever it was that one of the three men had forcibly shot into his arm, he was drowsy and incoherent, as he kept going in and out of consciousness.

Although he was in a foggy haze, he could hear four voices outside over the falling rain. They were talking rather loudly, he figured about him, but he couldn't quite make out what was being said.

He heard the voices of his three kidnappers, but the other one, even though he couldn't see the person's face, he thought he recognized the voice…and it scared him.

** No…no it can't…can't be…why would he…no…he wouldn't…what's goin' on… **

As he weakly struggled to free his hands, and having no luck, the drug once again took effect, as his eyes slowly closed and he again lost consciousness.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

A few minutes later, the four men approached the car and opened the door and after momentarily starring at the unconscious paramedic, one of the kidnappers slightly laughed, as he spoke.

“Well…looks like Gage is still out of it. But why bring ‘im here, and what do ya want done with ‘im…why not just take the guy out in the middle of nowhere, do whatever it is that you're gonna do to him, and dump his body and be done with it…I'm tellin' ya, that would be a better way to take care of ‘im.”

The unknown man spoke up, and said, “No, he's been conscious…that's how this drug works…in an' out for quite a few hours, it's enough to drive a person crazy. And you brought him here because I told'cha to …and with all the money I've paid the three of you jerks, none of you should be askin' any questions…or standing there tellin' * me * how to take care of somebody. And what did you think I wanted you to do with him Snyder…do ya think I had'cha kidnap ‘im and bring him here so I could throw the guy a surprise party and make nice to ‘im? I want him dead!”

Tony Snyder heard the anger in the man's voice and only shrugged his shoulders, but didn't say anything else. Then, Kent Rollins foolishly spoke up.

“But, I though the two of you were friends. What happened that's made ya suddenly hate ‘im enough ta' kill ‘im…if I'm not bein' too noisy that is.”

The man angrily turned on Rollins, shoving him back against the trunk of the car, holding him down, as he yelled at him.

“You * are * bein' noisy and around me, that can be * very * hazardous to your health…and you're just like Gage, it doesn't pay you ta' think, so stop doin' it before you strain what's left of that rock that masquerades as your brain!”

The man suddenly calmed down and composed himself as he let go of Kent. The other two kidnappers laughed at Rollins, as he stood up, straightened his shirt and slowly backed away.

“And the two of you shut up!” the man shouted.

Tony and Steve quickly became silent…they knew that it would not be smart to anger this man.

He spoke in a slightly calmer voice, that at first, held a hint of sadness, but then quickly turned to anger as he thought about what had happened.

“But, I'll say this much…you're right Kent…we * were * friends…very * good * friends…but after what he did…what he's put me through…he's no longer my friend…and I want him ta' pay for the damage he's done and the heartbreak he's caused me.”

Williams, the third kidnapper, was about to say something, but stopped when he saw the look on the fourth man's face…daring any of them to ever question his motives again, and seeing what had just happened to Kent, Steve nervously looked away and glanced back at Johnny and remained quiet…he felt this man had gone off the deep end.

The fourth man looked at the three, then looked back at Gage and grabbed a handful of Johnny's long hair and jerked his head back, looking at him. He then spoke to the others.

“Blindfold ‘im and get this piece of trash out'a my sight before I kill ‘im right here, and then take ‘im to the warehouse over on East 57th…I'll meet'cha there in about an hour. When you get there, take him inside and keep him tied up…and he better * not * get away…cause if he does, I'll kill tha' two of you in his place. You can remove the tape, but other than that, * don't * do anything to him…I want that privilege myself.”

Hoping to be able to change the other man's mind to allow them to beat up on Johnny…if only a little bit, Rollins smiled, as he asked, “But…what if he tries ta' fight us…or he does tries ta' get away…can we… well, can we rough ‘im up a bit?”

Shoving Johnny's head forward and looking back at Rollins, the forth man replied, “Ya know, besides bein' dumb, you can also be an idiot…he's not gonna fight'cha with his hands tied behind his back. Although ...you might be right, the way I know that Gage is...he might try ta' get away...and if he does, I suppose you can teach him a lesson...but I'll repeat myself...do * not * kill him."

Steve and Kent nodded their heads, showing that they understood…even though Kent was disappointed, Steve was becoming more afraid.

Seeing they understood, he turned to Tony, and said, “Tony, you can drive me, but I've got a stop ta' make along the way…I need to pick up somethin'…special…to take care of Gage.”

Tony nodded his head and as he and the unidentified man made their way to the other car, Steve reluctantly blindfolded Johnny, then he and Kent got in the car and drove off, taking the unconscious paramedic to their destination.

~~~~~~

The movement of the car is what finally brought Johnny around…at first, his brain was so jumbled that he had forgotten where he was and what was going on, as his breathing became more rapid, seeing that everything was dark, even though he knew he had opened his eyes.

After a moment, he vaguely remembered being kidnapped, drugged and taken from the parking lot of his apartment complex, and feeling the bandana that had been placed over his eyes and tied behind his head, made him realize that he was blindfolded, as he tried to calm his breathing down.

** Where are they takin' me…I've gotta get away from these people…but why is this happenin' ta‘ me…what have I done **

Gage tried to remain as quiet as he could, hoping, for one, that his kidnappers wouldn't realize, at least not yet, that he had once again regained consciousness, and two, in hopes of maybe hearing a familiar sound to at least give him a clue as to where he was being taken, since he was unable to see.

Johnny didn't know how long they had been moving, but he finally felt the car, as it jerked to a stop, his breathing once again increased, not knowing what has coming next. Kent unfortunately heard Johnny's rapid breathing, and as he turned around in the seat to look at the paramedic, he spoke to him as he rubbed his hands together.

“Well Gage, you're awake…again…now, time for a little bit'a fun.”

The words “a little bit of fun” made Johnny tense up…he became more afraid, not knowing what these two men might end up doing to him. Seeing that Gage was scared caused Kent to laugh…he received a sick feeling of satisfaction, knowing what he was putting his hostage through.

“Hmmm…hmmm…” was all Johnny could get out.

Placing a hand to his ear as he continued to laugh and make fun of Johnny, Kent said, “What was that Gage…huh…speak up, I can't understand'cha. Oh, that's right, I think he might be sayin' nooooo… nooooo…is that right Johnny?”

Johnny slowly nodded his head yes.

Steve spoke up and nervously said, “Kent, leave tha' guy alone…and remember what the boss said, we can't kill ‘im…he said not ta' do * anything * to ‘im.”

Laying his hand on his friend's shoulder, Kent said, “Ah no, now…I'm not gonna let you take my fun away from me. Steve m' boy, he said we could teach him a lesson…if we had to…but not to kill ‘im…and I think I * might * just have to teach ‘im a lesson…a good, hard lesson…but I didn't say anything about…killin' him…maybe just make ‘im wish he was dead. Then when the boss comes, Johnny boy won't care if we do ‘im in. Come on, let's get ‘im inside, it won't be long before they get here.”

“Man, I don't know about this, I don't think we should do it. Look, he hasn't done anything ta' us…let's just let 'im go, give back the money and me and you take off…man, the boss is crazy.”

** That sounds like a good idea to me…I won't argue with that…please let me go **

Grabbing his friend by the front of his shirt, Rollins angrily said, “Look Williams, we're not lettin' him go and it don't matter what he's done or not done ta' us, he's done somethin' to the boss…and there's no way I'm givin' back * my * money…besides, the boss is gonna kill ‘im anyway. And you heard what he said, if Gage gets away, *we* die…and I'm not about to let that happen. So, unless you do wanna end up like this guys gonna, you'd better keep your mouth shut and quit feelin' sorry for 'im!"

** Please don't listen to ‘im man…please…you gotta help me…you guys can't do this…you just can't kill me for no reason…please…please don't **

Knowing that the boss meant what he said and being afraid that he might end up dead as well, Steve sadly glanced back at Johnny as he spoke.

“Alright …okay, just let go! I know I'm gonna regret this but…let's do it and get all this over with Kent.”

By saying each other's names, Johnny figured that he was going to end up dying…he just couldn't figure out why. When Gage heard the two front doors open and then slam closed, and felt the air and cold rain from outside, from the back door being opened, he tried to move away from the hands that he knew was coming for him.

Reaching inside, Kent grabbed the frightened paramedic by the arm, and said, “Come on Gage, let's go. It's gonna go easier on you if you don't give us any trouble.”

** Yeah…easier on me…sure it will…you're not killin' me without a fight **

Not listening, Johnny again tried to move across the seat to try to get away and fight his captors, but he was unable to move quick enough, as Kent quickly became angry, reaching in and roughly jerking him out of the car by his right arm, causing the blindfolded man to almost stumble…Gage suddenly felt a hand on his other arm and back and immediately knew that it was Steve who was helping him to keep his balance and not fall to the ground.

The paramedic started thinking that maybe he might have a friend in this man...at least, he hoped he would long enough to maybe be able to get out of this mess…alive.

“Hey man, you don't have ta' be so rough with the guy, he's blindfolded and can't see so take it easy. Besides, he's just scared, but he ain't gonna give us any trouble…are ya Johnny?”

The two men saw, as Johnny slowly shook his head no.

Looking back at Kent, Steve said, "Now see Kent, so come on dude, chill out a little."

"Chill out...you want me ta' chill out...okay, I'll…chill out."

Johnny didn't like the tone of Kent's voice and he soon found out why...he heard what sounded like someone being pushed to the ground, then suddenly felt a fist slamming hard several times into his face and then in his ribs and stomach, causing a severe coughing spasm, as he fell to the wet road, writhing and moaning in pain…he brought his knees to his chest against the pain, but it didn't help.

Steve quickly got to this feet and pushed Rollins away from the fallen man, as he tried to help Johnny to his feet, but the paramedic couldn't catch his breath and was unable to stand…Williams instead was finally able to help steady Johnny on his knees. The two men saw the blood from Johnny's nose then suddenly heard as the young paramedic started to gag…Rollins just stood there, laughing, but Williams became frightened and carefully but quickly removed the tape that covered Johnny's mouth…Gage continued to violently cough, which also made him start throwing up.

Looking up at Kent, Steve asked, “What the hell is wrong with you...why can't'cha just leave the poor guy alone and let the boss take care of ‘im? And let's get ‘im in outta the rain."

Mockingly, Rollins said, “Why don't'cha leave ‘im alone…why don't'cha leave ‘im alone… I've told'cha, that attitude, 'specially ‘round the boss is gonna get'cha killed…now, you better listen ta' me.”

Letting Johnny finish, Kent grabbed his right arm, and said, “Okay Gage, come on, let's get inside.”

Breathing hard, and still trying to catch his breath, Johnny turned his head so he could wipe his mouth on the sleeve of his uniform shirt.

Johnny softly said, “Please…please don't…don't do this…ta' me…I haven't done…anything …who are you…please let…let me go…”

“No can do Gage, I'm not lettin' you go and die because of it. And it doesn't matter who we are, so shut up and come on.” Kent said.

“Please…don't do this…”

Kent jerked Johnny to his feet and pulled the blindfolded paramedic towards the warehouse …Williams reluctantly followed. Steve knew that the other men were going to kill Johnny, and like Gage, Williams didn't know why, but knew that he didn't want to be a part of any murder. He made a promise to himself to get the two of them out of this situation, but for the time being, he decided that he had to keep it to himself in order to keep them both alive.

Reaching the door, Kent said, “Alright Gage, ya got a step right here…step up, then keep walkin' straight ahead till I tell ya ta' stop.”

Johnny was already unsteady on his feet and with his hands tied behind his back and not being able to see, was only making it worse…he hesitantly and carefully stepped up, trying to make sure he didn't fall, then went inside the cold warehouse as he was ordered.

“Why…why are you…doin' this ta me…please…at least tell me…” Johnny softly begged, as he again began to shiver.

Reaching the chair, Kent said, “You'll find out soon enough…okay stop and turn around and sit down.”

Kent helped Johnny to turn and sit down in the chair. Feeling himself being pushed slightly forward and the rope around his wrists being loosened, Gage thought, if only for a moment, that he might be able to pull away and run…but knowing that he probably didn't stand a chance of escaping, Johnny decided against it and only slightly moved in the chair as he tried to get into a more comfortable position.

Johnny didn't know if Kent was just being mean or if he thought he was trying to get away, but the cold, shivering paramedic suddenly felt his left arm being pulled and twisted behind his back, making him cry out in pain.

“Ahhhhh…no please…please stop…please…it hurts…!”¨

“Are you gonna try that again?”

“I didn't…do anything…please stop it…it hurts…my arm…!”

“Kent, stop it!” Steve shouted.

Kent ignored Steve, and said, “Don't lie ta' me Gage, you were tryin' to get away…weren't you?”

Johnny knew the only way to get the pain to stop was to agree with his kidnapper…so he did.

“Okay…yes, yes I was…won't do it…again please…please stop…!”

Kent let an evil grin spread across his face as he let go of Johnny's arm, yanking the hurting paramedic back in the chair, as he tightly retied the rope around Gage's wrists and around the back of the chair, making sure that his hostage couldn't get away.

Steve saw tears running down Johnny's bruising checks from behind the blindfold…he wasn't sure if it was because of what Kent had done and his arm was hurting or if it was because Johnny was scared…he figured it was a little of both.

The phone across the room suddenly started ringing…being startled, Johnny jumped. As he looked across the room, then back at Williams, Kent spoke as he spitefully tightened the rope even tighter around Johnny's already numb and hurting wrists, causing Gage to jerk from the pain.

“I'll get it, it's probably tha' boss. You stay here with Johnny and keep an eye on ‘im.”

** Like he can go anywhere…why did I ever agree to get involved in this mess…I need my head examined **

“Yeah, sure…okay.” Steve softly said.

Not being able to see, Johnny attentively listened to the footsteps that walked away from him. When he felt that the man was far enough away, he very quietly spoke to the man who remained beside him.

Johnny swallowed hard, as he softly asked, “What…what's your name?”

“Steve.”

Trying to control his fear, Johnny begged, “Thank you for…for helpin' me out there…but please Steve …please help me again…now…don't let ‘im…don't let ‘im kill me…please I haven't…I haven't done anything…please let me go…please…I wanna go home…I'm cold…”

Steve looked over at Kent, who, for the moment, had his back turned to them. He spoke in the same quiet voice as Johnny had.

Sympathetically, Steve said, “Man, I can't. If I help you get away, those guys are gonna kill * me *…and then kill you…when they catch'cha…and they * would * catch'cha, believe me …these guys are crazy, total nut cases. And I'm sorry Johnny, but I don't have a jacket or anything, if I did, I'd let you have it.”

Johnny kept trying, he could hear in this man's voice that he really didn't want him to get hurt and that Steve didn't want to be there anymore than he did. For some reason, Gage felt safe with Steve.

Slowing his breathing down a bit more but still shivering, Johnny replied, ”It's alright…been cold before so…I'll live, I hope…but you can't…let ‘em kill me…at least tell me what I've…what I've done…I deserve that much…don't I…?”

Steve checked again and seeing that Rollins was still on the phone and had his back to them, he quietly spoke to their hostage.

“Yeah, you do. But I don't know Johnny…honest, I don't. I was just there when Kent got the call ta' do tha' job and he didn't tell me why…I don't even know if he really knows the reason.”

“Please…please let me go…”

Kent finished with the phone call and hung up and turned to see the two men talking. Being a little suspicious about what they were talking about, Kent quietly started walking towards the two and listened. He saw Williams squat down in front of Johnny.

Not knowing that Kent was listening, Steve said, “Okay, look, listen ta' me…I'll try ta' get both of us outta here…I don't want any part'a this…not murder. But no matter what happens, play along…we'll get outta here…I promise. Just try ta' relax some and don't give these guys any trouble…trust me, you don't know ‘em like I do, you don't know what they're capable of doin' to a person.”

Calming down a little bit, Johnny said, “Yeah, I know…I don't know ‘em and…I'm scared…I don't…I don't wanna die.”

“I know…I know…neither do I. Just keep actin' scared and I'll get us outta here.”

** Somehow **

“Thank you.” Johnny softly replied.

“Wait and you can thank me later…we aren't outta here yet.”

Kent saw Johnny nod his head.

** So…you've decided ta' help Gage…well, we'll see about that…I tried ta' warn you but I guess you have to learn the hard way **

Before Steve could answer Johnny, Kent walked back over to the two and said, “Forget it Gage, you can't have any.”

Being startled, not knowing that Kent was coming back towards them, Johnny said, “Please…I need some…I'm gettin' dehy…”

Johnny suddenly stopped when out of nowhere he felt a closed fist hit him again in the face…Johnny's head jerked roughly to the left and he felt blood coming from his bottom lip.

** Oh great…first m' nose and now m' lip **

Yelling, Kent said, “Shut up, I said you're not gettin' any…and if you keep annoyin' me, tha' tapes gonna go back on! Do you want that ta' happen?”

Turning his head to spit out the blood, Johnny softly said, “No…no I don't…I'm sorry… just…just thirsty and…and I feel weird…”

“Well, get over it.”

Suddenly the three men heard a car pull up outside and the doors slam shut…Johnny became more afraid, knowing that he probably didn't have much time left…in spite of what Steve had just promised him.

Kent leaned in close to Johnny…the paramedic could smell the order of alcohol on the breath of Rollins, as he finally spoke in a low, threatening voice.

“Well, that's tha' boss. Now, it's time to take care of business…and I'm gonna enjoy this.”

They then heard the door to the warehouse open and then slam shut. Johnny felt as the weird feeling got stronger...his ears started buzzing and the voices he heard sounded muffled and distant.

** No…no you can't do this…not again…you have ta' stay awake **

Johnny knew what was happening, as he again blacked out.

(end of part I)

part II